www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thanks Wurzel. They’re certainly having a good spring generation round this way.

A couple of weeks ago, it was time to venture a little further afield, with a trip to Whipsnade Downs, not very far from the zoo. Duke of Burgundy is a target here and I was well rewarded, with good numbers, probably 40 or 50 adults seen. Some, of course, will have been seen more than once, but this is a good showing. The first females had emerged, too.

Oops! This was meant to be the first picture

Lovely set of shots Essex I thought that you'd posted the image of the Duchess twice as it was a cracking image Essex It was almost a case of "Don't mention the repeat image, I did once but I think I got away with it"

Have a godun

Wurzel

essexbuzzard wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2024 7:00 pm...probably 40 or 50 adults seen. Some, of course, will have been seen more than once, but this is a good showing...

Sure is, Mark, and some nice images too.

Lol, nice one Wurzel...

Thanks David. It was lovely to get out and see them.

However, the other spring species were disappointing, with just three Greens, this is normally a good site for them. Not a single Dingy was seen, and only two Grizzled Skippers. With the Skippers, though, perhaps the poor weather has delayed emergence.

Has anyone else noticed this, that the vegetation is running earlier this year, but the butterfly season is running a little late?

Great shots essex,if things are running late there could yet be a chance for a Gizzled S Goldie

essexbuzzard wrote: ↑Thu May 23, 2024 9:13 pm...Has anyone else noticed this, that the vegetation is running earlier this year, but the butterfly season is running a little late?

Yes. Absolutely, Mark.

Yesterday I went looking for Small Pearl Bordered Frits in a drier area of my local Common and had to virtually hack my way throught the bracken and bramble.

In dry springs, the butterflies emerge earlier and the vegetation doesn't grow so quickly.

Hi Goldie, I was still seeing Grizzled Skippers last week, so there might just be time.

Thanks David, normally the Adonis Blues emerge with the hawthorn blossom, but that had long gone by the time Adonis started this year.

Last week, given a fine day, we headed down to east Kent for a day. Butterflies weren’t great in terms of abundance, but there was plenty of variety at the Lydden Temple Ewell reserve, including our first Small Blues of 2024. Also new for the year, the first Adonis Blues has emerged. Surprisingly, a couple of Brimstones showed quite well. My first Brown Argus were nice to see. Butterfly list included Brimstone, Green-veined White,Dingy Skipper,Small Blue, Brown Argus,Common Blue,Adonis Blue, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Small Heath and Green Hairstreak.

While we were down here, it would be rude not to visit a couple of orchid sites. This is a fly orchid. Lady orchid. And the very rare monkey orchid.

Those are some fantastic looking Orchids Essex I need to investigate if there's some information about the more unusual ones local to me Lovely looking Small Blue too

Have a goodun

Wurzel

The best ones near you Wurzel, to my knowledge, are the burnt orchids at Martin Down!

A few days later, we headed for Denbies. Leaving home under blue skies, by the time we arrived it was raining! We had to bide our time for a couple of hours, but eventually it brightened up, and the butterflies appeared.

It was nice to see a decent number of fresh Dingy Skippers. It may have been the end of May, but judging by their freshness, the Adonis Blues were still getting going. A few Grizzled Skippers were found. I just managed to capture a shot of this one, between two blades of grass.

Then onto Mill Hill, near Shoreham in Sussex. Normally the turf here is yellow with glorious horseshoe vetch blooms, but this year the flowers were a bit sparse. Again, butterflies were not plentiful, but there were a few nice ones, including Common Blues, And a good sprinkling of lovely fresh Adonis Blues. A few Dingy and Grizzled Skippers were seen, and lots of Small Heath at both sites-what a great spring they’re having, though I still haven’t managed a decent picture!

Also seen was my first Large Skipper ( surprisingly a female), a sign we are leaving spring behind, and heading into early summer. During these few weeks both town and countryside have been utterly transformed into verdant landscapes, and the daffodils, blossoms and Orange Tips have come and gone. It’s time to start the next chapter.

A few Adonis were still emerging at Denbies on 2nd June, Mark - they seem to have had a strong first brood here this year. That's a nice Grizzled Skipper too (I didn't see any of those on 2nd). It won't be long now before the Marbled Whites appear... As you say, summer is here.

Cheers,

Dave

Cracking set of posts Essex especially like the dual Dingy shot You don't often see them together unless they're in cop as normally they're beating the hell out of each other or anything else that gets too close for that matter

Have a goodun

Wurzel

The June gap was clear to see round my way. However, Small Heath continued to emerge on my local common, they’ve had a good first brood here. Large Skippers started to appear early in the month. The poor weather has given me few opportunities to see them, but they seem to be about in reasonable numbers. The best news of the year so far is the Essex Heath Fritillaries, which had a boom year at Hockey Woods, and they did well at Pound Wood, too. Excellent management, as well as slightly improving weather, clearly helped them here. Here’s something I’ve not seen before, a black Heath Fritillary, seen at Hockey. This is perhaps due to chilling at the chrysalis stage. After mid month, there was little to report, with the weather deteriorating again, at least on my days off, and lack of emergences. A morning at Leigh Station, near Southend, produced just one White-letter Hairstreak low down, though a few others were seen in flight. This visit also produced a Dave Miller! Further up, at Hadleigh Castle, was perhaps the best sighting, with my first UK Painted Lady of the year.

That's a bizarre Heath Fritillary, Mark. I suppose with so many around, one or two are bound to be a little different...

You deserve another for the Painted Lady as well - I've only seen a handful, and they were all back in mid-May. Very few and far between this year.

I remember that WLH too...

Cheers,

Dave

Cracking shots Essex That's an ab and a half!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

essexbuzzard wrote: ↑Thu Jul 11, 2024 8:54 pm...Here’s something I’ve not seen before, a black Heath Fritillary, seen at Hockey. This is perhaps due to chilling at the chrysalis stage...

That's off the scale, Mark!

Hi Buzzard. What a brilliant butterfly. After we had so much snow in May, when the caterpillars were feeding up, I was on the look out for melanic heath fritillaries like yours. But so far, all seem normal. That supports your theory that it is chilling at the pupal stage that causes it. We just had rain then ...

Guy

Hi Mark. Just caught up with your Heath Fritillary ab.
I have seen a few abs of this species posted on social media this year but that is easily the most extreme. What a butterfly!

Cheers,

Neil

Thanks everyone. Never seen a Heath Fritillary remotely like it. Only managed 3 shots, before it was off, lost among the multitude of normal adults. The other two pictures were rather blurry, perhaps due to the excitement!

By early July, the Marbled Whites had emerged. This new colony on the common behind my house continues to go from strength to strength. One thing I’ve noticed, like the Meadow Browns, is that they only fly for 3 or 4 weeks on this gently north-facing site, whereas they fly well into August on the Downs.